Elemental mapping of half-sandwich azopyridine osmium arene complexes in cancer cells

Elizabeth M Bolitho; Hannah E. Bridgewater; Russell J Needham; James P C Coverdale; Paul D Quinn; Carlos Sanchez-Cano; Peter J Sadler

doi:10.1039/D1QI00512J

Elemental mapping of half-sandwich azopyridine osmium arene complexes in cancer cells

Elizabeth M Bolitho, Hannah E. Bridgewater, Russell J Needham, James P C Coverdale, Paul D Quinn, Carlos Sanchez-Cano, Peter J Sadler

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Abstract

Transition metal complexes are often prodrugs which undergo activation by ligand exchange and redox reactions before they interact with target sites. It is therefore important to understand the roles of both the metal and the ligands in their activation, especially in cells. Here we use a combination of synchrotron nanoprobe X-ray fluorescence (XRF) from Os L3M5 and Br KL3 emissions and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) detection of 189Os, 79Br, and 127I, to investigate the time-dependent accumulation and localization of osmium as well as the monodentate ligand and the chelated phenylazopyridine in A2780 human ovarian cancer cells treated with the potent anticancer complexes [Os(η6-p-cymene)(4-R2-phenyl-azopyridine-5-R1)X]PF6, with R2 = NMe2 or OH, R1 = H or Br, and X = Cl or I. The data confirm that the relatively inert iodido complexes are activated rapidly in cancer cells by release of the iodido ligand, probably initiated by attack by the intracellular tripeptide glutathione (γ-L-Glu-l-Cys-Gly) on the azo double bond. The bond between osmium and the azopyridine appears to remain stable in cells for ca. 24 h, although some release of the chelated ligand is observed. Interestingly, the complexes seem to be degraded more rapidly in normal human cells, perhaps providing a possible mechanism for selective cytotoxicity towards cancer cells.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	3675–3685
Number of pages	11
Journal	Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers
Volume	8
Issue number	15
Early online date	10 Jun 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1039/D1QI00512J
Publication status	Published - 7 Aug 2021
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Open access licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC-BY).

Funding Information:
We thank the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC grant no. EP/P030572/1) and Anglo American Platinum for funding. We thank Diamond Light Source and Warwick Collaborative Postgraduate Research Scholarships for a PhD studentship for E. M. B. We thank L. Song for assistance with ICP-MS experiments. C.S.C. thanks Gipuzkoa Foru Aldundia (Gipuzkoa Fellows program; grant number 2019-FELL-000018-01/62/2019) for financial support. This work was performed under the Maria de Maeztu Units of Excellence Programme – Grant No. MDM-2017-0720 Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. All synchrotron work was performed at the I14 Beamline (DLS, Oxford) under experiment numbers MG-19838 and SP-20548. We thank S. E. Bakker and I. Hands-Portsman (Advanced Bioimaging RTP) for assistance and training in plunge-freezing, and J. Tod for assistance with freeze-drying. We thank J. Parker and F. Cacho-Nerin for assistance during the experiments at the I14 Beamline.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 the Partner Organisations.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Inorganic Chemistry

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Cite this

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title = "Elemental mapping of half-sandwich azopyridine osmium arene complexes in cancer cells",

abstract = "Transition metal complexes are often prodrugs which undergo activation by ligand exchange and redox reactions before they interact with target sites. It is therefore important to understand the roles of both the metal and the ligands in their activation, especially in cells. Here we use a combination of synchrotron nanoprobe X-ray fluorescence (XRF) from Os L3M5 and Br KL3 emissions and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) detection of 189Os, 79Br, and 127I, to investigate the time-dependent accumulation and localization of osmium as well as the monodentate ligand and the chelated phenylazopyridine in A2780 human ovarian cancer cells treated with the potent anticancer complexes [Os(η6-p-cymene)(4-R2-phenyl-azopyridine-5-R1)X]PF6, with R2 = NMe2 or OH, R1 = H or Br, and X = Cl or I. The data confirm that the relatively inert iodido complexes are activated rapidly in cancer cells by release of the iodido ligand, probably initiated by attack by the intracellular tripeptide glutathione (γ-L-Glu-l-Cys-Gly) on the azo double bond. The bond between osmium and the azopyridine appears to remain stable in cells for ca. 24 h, although some release of the chelated ligand is observed. Interestingly, the complexes seem to be degraded more rapidly in normal human cells, perhaps providing a possible mechanism for selective cytotoxicity towards cancer cells.",

author = "Bolitho, {Elizabeth M} and Bridgewater, {Hannah E.} and Needham, {Russell J} and Coverdale, {James P C} and Quinn, {Paul D} and Carlos Sanchez-Cano and Sadler, {Peter J}",

note = "Open access licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC-BY). Funding Information: We thank the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC grant no. EP/P030572/1) and Anglo American Platinum for funding. We thank Diamond Light Source and Warwick Collaborative Postgraduate Research Scholarships for a PhD studentship for E. M. B. We thank L. Song for assistance with ICP-MS experiments. C.S.C. thanks Gipuzkoa Foru Aldundia (Gipuzkoa Fellows program; grant number 2019-FELL-000018-01/62/2019) for financial support. This work was performed under the Maria de Maeztu Units of Excellence Programme – Grant No. MDM-2017-0720 Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. All synchrotron work was performed at the I14 Beamline (DLS, Oxford) under experiment numbers MG-19838 and SP-20548. We thank S. E. Bakker and I. Hands-Portsman (Advanced Bioimaging RTP) for assistance and training in plunge-freezing, and J. Tod for assistance with freeze-drying. We thank J. Parker and F. Cacho-Nerin for assistance during the experiments at the I14 Beamline. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 the Partner Organisations.",

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AU - Quinn, Paul D

AU - Sanchez-Cano, Carlos

AU - Sadler, Peter J

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Elemental mapping of half-sandwich azopyridine osmium arene complexes in cancer cells

Abstract

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